Cognitive:Students will recognize how essential the virtues of commitment and fidelity are to a successful marriage.
Affective:Students will want to have happy marriages in the future and will be willing to build their characters now in order to have them.
Behavioral:Students will practice keeping commitments and being loyal in their friendships and other non-romantic relationships.
Class Session 1:
Ask students to imagine they are going West in a covered wagon in the old days. They have only a wagon in which to store their belongings. It is a six-month journey. There are no hotels or motels along the way, so they will have to camp out in wilderness and prairie conditions.
If they have a wagon about five feet by ten feet, what kinds of things will they be able to bring with them? What kinds of things will they have to leave behind?
Explain that the areas in the United States on either side of the Mississippi River—a large river many pioneers had to cross—are still full of old dressers, wooden trunks, and large and heavy furniture. The pioneers found they could bring these possessions no farther if they were to cross the river and continue their journey.
The text compares marriage to such a pioneering journey. Ask students what kind of things they think they might need to leave behind on the journey of marriage. Will they be able to spend as much time as they do now with their friends, for example? Do they think they might have to give up close friendships with people of the opposite sex? What other things might they have to leave behind?
Explain that some pioneers wanted to turn back on the journey because it was hard. Some did turn back, but most did not. By sticking to their commitment to go West, many found prosperity for themselves and for their descendants. Look at California now! It was once the destination of people with nothing but determination. It is now the home of many great industries—all because the pioneers kept their commitment to their journey.
Point out that marriage is like a journey. Sometimes people want to give up. Yet for those who go the whole journey, marriage builds families, communities, even nations. It is the start of new human beings. It is the start of many new things. It is something worth committing to for the sake of the future.
Explain that in marriage, commitment means being faithful to the marriage partner. Ask students how many of them have ever been betrayed by a friend. Give examples of such betrayal:
A friend says he or she will do something or go somewhere with you, then abandons you for someone else.
A friend promises not to tell anyone your secret, but then you find out everyone knows about it because your friend told several people.
Someone you introduced to your best friend becomes closer to your best friend than you are, and you get left out.
Ask the students for other examples of betrayals by friends.
How do such betrayals feel? If a betrayal by a friend hurts so badly, how much more must a betrayal by a husband or wife hurt? Ask students to imagine how it must feel to have a spouse get romantically or sexually involved with someone else.
Point out that this is why fidelity is so important in a marriage. Trust is the foundation of true romantic love. If trust is broken by betrayal or lack of commitment, how can love develop between two people?
Ask students to read, take home, and do the Exercise "Inquiry on Marriage" as homework for the next class session.
As a last discussion point, ask students how they can build the virtues of commitment and fidelity into their characters now to ensure successful and happy marriages later.
Class Session 2:
Discuss the students' results from doing the Exercise: "Inquiry on Marriage." Have them discuss as a class the last question: What advice would you give a young person on establishing a successful marriage and family? If possible, make a master list on the board that shows their ten most important pieces of advice. It could be entitled "Advice for a Happy Marriage".
Have students fill in the Questions for Reflection in their student books.
Questions for Reflection
1. What are the two main virtues you need for a successful marriage?
2. What other virtues are important in marriage?
3. What are the different stages of marriage?
4. Can you understand why some people give up in the second stage? Why shouldn't
they?
5. How does marriage help us grow in love?
Ask students to write their own wedding vows. What would they want their spouse to vow to do? What promises would they want to make to their spouses? Have them write a letter to a future spouse, expressing their hopes, dreams, and willingness to commit to them.
Objectives
Cognitive: Students will recognize how essential the virtues of commitment and fidelity are to a successful marriage.
Affective: Students will want to have happy marriages in the future and will be willing to build their characters now in order to have them.
Behavioral: Students will practice keeping commitments and being loyal in their friendships and other non-romantic relationships.
Class Session 1:
Ask students to imagine they are going West in a covered wagon in the old days. They have only a wagon in which to store their belongings. It is a six-month journey. There are no hotels or motels along the way, so they will have to camp out in wilderness and prairie conditions.
If they have a wagon about five feet by ten feet, what kinds of things will they be able to bring with them? What kinds of things will they have to leave behind?
Explain that the areas in the United States on either side of the Mississippi River—a large river many pioneers had to cross—are still full of old dressers, wooden trunks, and large and heavy furniture. The pioneers found they could bring these possessions no farther if they were to cross the river and continue their journey.
The text compares marriage to such a pioneering journey. Ask students what kind of things they think they might need to leave behind on the journey of marriage. Will they be able to spend as much time as they do now with their friends, for example? Do they think they might have to give up close friendships with people of the opposite sex? What other things might they have to leave behind?
Explain that some pioneers wanted to turn back on the journey because it was hard. Some did turn back, but most did not. By sticking to their commitment to go West, many found prosperity for themselves and for their descendants. Look at California now! It was once the destination of people with nothing but determination. It is now the home of many great industries—all because the pioneers kept their commitment to their journey.
Point out that marriage is like a journey. Sometimes people want to give up. Yet for those who go the whole journey, marriage builds families, communities, even nations. It is the start of new human beings. It is the start of many new things. It is something worth committing to for the sake of the future.
Explain that in marriage, commitment means being faithful to the marriage partner. Ask students how many of them have ever been betrayed by a friend. Give examples of such betrayal:
A friend says he or she will do something or go somewhere with you, then abandons you for someone else.
A friend promises not to tell anyone your secret, but then you find out everyone knows about it because your friend told several people.
Someone you introduced to your best friend becomes closer to your best friend than you are, and you get left out.
Ask the students for other examples of betrayals by friends.
How do such betrayals feel? If a betrayal by a friend hurts so badly, how much more must a betrayal by a husband or wife hurt? Ask students to imagine how it must feel to have a spouse get romantically or sexually involved with someone else.
Point out that this is why fidelity is so important in a marriage. Trust is the foundation of true romantic love. If trust is broken by betrayal or lack of commitment, how can love develop between two people?
Ask students to read, take home, and do the Exercise "Inquiry on Marriage" as homework for the next class session.
As a last discussion point, ask students how they can build the virtues of commitment and fidelity into their characters now to ensure successful and happy marriages later.
Class Session 2:
Discuss the students' results from doing the Exercise: "Inquiry on Marriage." Have them discuss as a class the last question: What advice would you give a young person on establishing a successful marriage and family? If possible, make a master list on the board that shows their ten most important pieces of advice. It could be entitled "Advice for a Happy Marriage".
Have students fill in the Questions for Reflection in their student books.
Questions for Reflection
1. What are the two main virtues you need for a successful marriage?
2. What other virtues are important in marriage?
3. What are the different stages of marriage?
4. Can you understand why some people give up in the second stage? Why shouldn't
they?
5. How does marriage help us grow in love?
Ask students to write their own wedding vows. What would they want their spouse to vow to do? What promises would they want to make to their spouses? Have them write a letter to a future spouse, expressing their hopes, dreams, and willingness to commit to them.